In the first race of the ‘’cobbled’’ classics for women Team Parkhotel Valkenburg was well attended at the front but after some misfortune they played no significant role. After a fast and furious start on the narrow Belgian roads the peloton kept splitting and combing back together again. The race from Lennik to Overijsse covered many short Flanders-like climbs which gave a lot of opportunities for a hard and challenging race.
Karlijn Swinkels was the first to cross the finish line on behalf of the team. ‘’It was a tough race from the start. We tried to make the most out of it after some of us had some bad luck along the way. Romy Kasper and Femke Markus had to change bikes, Sylvie Swinkels hit the sidewalk and Amber van der Hulst fell but luckily only had some abrasions. For me it was a very good day though. I was able to keep up on the climbs and Romy often managed to drop us off in good position. Finding our place in the peloton is something we have to work on for the next classics.”
Result
1 Grace Brown
2 Liane Lippert
3 Floortje Mackaij
17 Karlijn Swinkels
61 Romy Kasper
69 Marit Raaijmakers
Photo by Velofocus